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Brys Stephens

Chefs Andrew Ticer and Michael Hudman met as kids, grew up in extended Italian-American families in Memphis, and have since honed their dauntless style of Italian and Southern cuisine at two Memphis restaurants, Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen and Hog and Hominy.

“Making great fried chicken at home is really pretty simple,” says chef Ashley Christensen, owner of Beasley’s Chicken + Honey in Raleigh, North Carolina. And who’d know better than a woman who makes her living turning out plate after glorious plate of the stuff each day

It’s not surprising that fall vegetables with a sweet flavor (like sweet potatoes) tie in well with the raisin-y, nutty, fruity notes of bourbon. But you can even pair bourbon with vegetables that have a little more bite, and the end result is quite delicious. Below two vegetables—radishes and brussels sprouts—get a dose of bourbon, just in time for the holidays

In Charlotte, which is known for welcoming newcomers, Central Avenue, on the east side of the city, is one of those places where Latin American, Middle Eastern, Asian and other international markets and restaurants concentrate and thrive. It’s streets are lined with unassuming venues serving and selling workaday food and goods the way it’s done in their respective home countries, more focused on authenticity than atmosphere or doting service.

Chef Linton Hopkins knows how to cook a steak. Hopkins, one of the James Beard Foundation’s Best Chefs in the Southeast this year (tied for the honor with another Georgian, Hugh Acheson), serves up choice cuts of locally-sourced beef alongside other seasonal dishes at Atlanta’s critically-acclaimed Restaurant Eugene.

Sarah Gavigan is obsessed with ramen. The Tennessee native spent 17 years in L.A. before returning to Nashville in 2009 cultivating a love for all kinds of comforting Japanese country food, the kinds of dishes served in Japanese gastro-pubs called Izakayas like fried and grilled yakitori, rice dishes, steaming bowls of ramen, and pickles. Gavigan’s obsession is coming to fruition in the form of her Nashville pop-up ramen shop and Izakaya calledOtaku South (Otaku roughly means “the obsessed”). She held Otaku’s first pop-up dinner in late September at 12 South Taproom in Nashville, and it sold out quickly, as did the second one this past Monday night at the Catbird Seat.

This time of year you're bound to find a plentiful supply of muscadines and scuppernongs at farmers' markets and even at your local grocery (the exact harvest time depends on weather, variety, and location). Native to the Southeast, muscadines have a complex, intensely grape-y flavor and are a natural match to the nutty spiciness of another native Southerner, bourbon. The two are combined in this sweet dessert sauce, which is akin to a quick jam or chutney. The inherent flavors of the bourbon and grape are backed up by a little honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cayenne pepper. It’s a versatile sauce, great spooned over ice-cream, spread on a biscuit or toast (or a turkey sandwich), even served on a cheese plate.

Here’s another way to work the nuanced flavor of bourbon into savory cooking, any night of the week. It’s a quick and easy method for roasting a whole chicken that relies on a preheated cast-iron skillet to cook the leg and thigh meat at the same rate as the breast meat so that they’re both done at the same time. About halfway through cooking, a simple glaze flavored with bourbon, rosemary, honey, molasses, and mustard adds richness and sheen to the outside of the chicken, while the short cooking time keeps the inside juicy.